A thin-film solar cell panel or module typically includes a transparent front electrode disposed on a glass substrate, a photovoltaically active layer containing a PN or PIN junction and a rear electrode. The front electrode is usually a transparent metal oxide such as tin oxide or zinc oxide. The simplest PIN junction includes a layer of a semiconductor material doped with a p-type dopant to form a P-layer, an undoped layer of a semiconductor material that forms an intrinsic or Mayer, and a layer of a semiconductor material doped with an n-type dopant to form an N-layer. Light incident on the substrate passes through the substrate, the front electrode and the photovoltaic layer, and a voltage is generated across the front and rear electrodes.
Typical methods for the manufacture of such thin-film solar cell panels use a laser to form a series of generally parallel grooves or scribes in the above-mentioned front electrode, semiconductor layer and rear electrode to divide the panel into a collection of individual, series connected cells. In one approach, as described in US 2008/0105303, laser beams are scanned across the panels to form parallel scribed lines. In another approach, the scribed lines were formed by moving the substrate containing the photovoltaic layer and electrodes under the laser beam. These known scribing processes tend to be slow.
Despite development in the art of forming parallel scribed lines on thin-film solar panels, there is a need for a new apparatus to meet volume production requirements of such solar panels and methods of use.